I’m in my mid-30’s now and know I haven’t reach my peak. Of course, I was not a varsity or college level athlete in my youth. Recently, I’ve had periods where my current ‘best’ (lift, time, whatever) is better than it has been in the past.
As an example, my cardiovascular fitness/endurance was probably better after I graduated a police academy not too long ago than when I wrestled in high school 20 years ago. I am also 60+lbs heavier and much stronger now (with a bit less hair on my noggin’). I believe it’s a matter of training, diet and lifestyle.
For a conversation point: several years ago I looked up records for various events in ‘masters’ competitions (see below).
Performance in the swimmning events is almost identical across a 25 year age range (35-59 yo). The young pups (35-39) put up better numbers in the 5K run (25% faster) and shotput (38% farther) than the old dogs (55-59). Note the lifts…Ol’ Yeller does about 20% more weight on bench and deadlift than Scrappy-doo.
Are the 55-59 yo’s the top of the food chain across all age ranges…nope. But holy cheese-nips, all of those numbers are well beyond what I am doing now.
Bottom line: keep training smart and the benefits will flow in a multitude of ways.
[quote]De sleeplijn wrote:
To the people that replied to this question, I will ask another if I may.
Have you been consistantly training athletes/bodybuilders/PLers or the like for a long time or are you relatively new into the iron game?
I find this a very interesting topic as I am now 32 and I feel I’m in decent ‘shape’. My peak was around 27 but since that time I have had at least one operation per year and I am struggling to regain my previous form.
Asthetically: I am in a good place now and I think I will keep improving.
Strength: I’m down a bit thanks to the injuries and a brief romance with functional training and BOSU’s.
Cardio is something that I believe is peaking in my 30’s.
Interesting topic.[/quote]
I’m 53. There is no way I can possibly compare myself to what I was in my 20’s. That decade was my physical peak.
I’m only 4 years into the iron game, but I’ve been athletic my whole life. I’ve played field hockey and woman’s rugby. There is no way I can take the hits like I used to. Age does have it’s physical limitations, especially in contact sports.
People in their 50’s who say they are in the best shape of their lives were not athletes when they were young, or they were out of shape to begin with. These people can improve their fitness level, compared to their younger days, and consider this their “peak”.
I can never be what I was. All I can do is keep lifting to stay as strong as I can be now.
[quote]jordanz wrote:
In overall Muscular development\Appearance?
In Strength?
In Cardiovascular fitness?
[/quote]
For Muscular Strenght/Appearance I’d say around 35-45. Ronnie Coleman was at his best in his late 30s. Bob Chicerello (the bodybuilding.com guy) is having the most success of his carrier in masters age group bodybuilding not because it’s less competitive but because he was in the best shape of his life last year.
Strength Peak I would say comes a bit earlier around 30 or 35 or whatever age the most successful Olympic lifters are. I think Speed-Strength necessary for jumping, sprinting, and olympic lifting peak before absolute strength needed for powerlifting or endurance-strenght needed for strongman.
For Cardiovascular fitness I’d also say around 35 or a bit older is when one iwll peak. Lance Armstrong quit right at his peak. A lot of pro soccer players are in their mid thirties.
Sprinters, Jumpers, and other track athletes will peak before everyone else but I think you’ll find that the best athletes in the world for the most part reach their best sometime during their 30s. People who “peak” in college or high-school only do so because they stop training as seriously as they were.
And just because you peak in your late 30s doesn’t mean that you’re going to start getting worse at that point. For people who aren’t elite athletes I’m sure that it’s possible to fend off aging, train hard, and make small improvements into your 50s. Those who are in the best shape of their lives in their 60s honestly probably haven’t been training as hard in their lives until this point and are exceptional genetically.
Jack LaLane never peaks. He doesn’t count because he’s not human.
Turned 35 a month ago and to be honest, I feel my athletic ability was better at about 27-30. I simply feel slower, the reactions are not what they used to be (I was a martial artist and had great reactions), and can’t run as fast.
To be fair, I don’t train in those things anymore…so that is a big contributor too…can’t blame age on that, even though I do notice little things that were not there before (aches, etc).
However I’m stronger, healthier, and my body is aesthetically better now.
Been training in weights since about 25. Doing it primarily for sports and martial arts.
Since I changed it up a few years ago, it’s been steady progression.
The future? Beats me. But when I read posts from people older than I am who are still improving after years of training, it’s definately encouraging.
I am 37, been lifting heavy since I was 14 and competing since I was 16. I say that I still have my best years ahead of me. I am now starting to get my feet wet in Olympic Lifting. It is a whole new ball of wax for me.
If you want age comparisons. When I was 23 my best squat was 840 in the gym and 810 in a full meet. Most recently 675 with knee wraps and a belt.
Best bench: shirted 551 in a meet at 27. Last year I did a raw 500. Deadlift: 705 at 27 , 716 at 35.
I think the three biggest keys for us old guys to continue training and making gains are as follows.
Frequency, more volume but three times a week. Allowing more time for recovery.
Nutrition, DUH!
Trying to stay injury free. Using little things like knees sleeves and elbow sleeves. Not so much heavy gear. Just enough support to keep the joints warm and lubricated.
I reached my peak strength at around 42. Powerlifted for 22 years and hit my best at 42. Benched 535, deadlifted 685 and squatted 625 at a bodyweight of 220lbs. Won USAPL state and national titles. These were strict competition lifts without the bullshit shirts that they are using today. No AAS. Since then I’ve retired. Still train relatively heavy and supplement with moderate AAS use. Lifting now for health and physique.
I still squat 405 for reps, and bench sets of 315 for 10 reps, 405 for triples from time to time but usually do more reps and lighter weights. Joints are shot and I can’t maintain heavy lifting cycles anymore.
[quote]Maximus50 wrote:
I reached my peak strength at around 42. Powerlifted for 22 years and hit my best at 42. Benched 535, deadlifted 685 and squatted 625 at a bodyweight of 220lbs. Won USAPL state and national titles. These were strict competition lifts without the bullshit shirts that they are using today. No AAS. Since then I’ve retired. Still train relatively heavy and supplement with moderate AAS use. Lifting now for health and physique. I still squat 405 for reps, and bench sets of 315 for 10 reps, 405 for triples from time to time but usually do more reps and lighter weights. Joints are shot and I can’t maintain heavy lifting cycles anymore. [/quote]
Yes, it does suck but I’ll work out til I die. It’s been part of my life for so long I don’t know any other way. And it’s great. When I look at guys my age that I grew up with and never trained, most look like shit. Weight training is indeed a fountain of youth.
[quote]Dr.PowerClean wrote:
However, we might have to do a new thread then for when did you peak sexually-cause I don’t think anyone can fuck at 40 like they did in their early twenties. Even with Viagra and HRT! LOL Doc[/quote]
Doc:
Your last point is a good suggestion, but at least you’ve added a topic within this topic.
On that score, maybe its experience, appreciating better the mutuality of sexual satisfaction, and the patience that comes w/ getting close to my 48th birthday, maybe its disposable income that let’s me and the wife put ourselves in the right settings, but sexually, quality and quantity have never been better. I sure hope I haven’t peaked. I’m always looking for new variety to try out. I do spend a lot of time encouraging that variety, however.
As to the OP’s original categories, I was really inconsistent from the time I left college until the late '90s. Mostly, I was a fat slob. I’m the best I’ve ever been in terms of muscular development. I think that’s true in strength as well, although I’m still 75 lbs away from your 495 DL clip. Getting up to that level remains a big goal of mine. As for CV fitness, age has caused some slowing down there. I banged out a sub-3 hr. marathon ten years ago. I could train full-time and I won’t see that again. Then again, I don’t think I want to.
Cardio wise,…I was at my best in H.S. LOL, I was the fastest Hispanic in school (5a)and took 3rd in the city 100m.
But now,appearance is by far better than in H.S. and College.
Strength, aw man,…I just started Powerlifting a lil’ over a year ago, and I am still jacking up those numbers. I am so much stronger now,…and that is raw too. I’m 36.
[quote]Skeetz wrote:
Dr.PowerClean wrote:
However, we might have to do a new thread then for when did you peak sexually-cause I don’t think anyone can fuck at 40 like they did in their early twenties. Even with Viagra and HRT! LOL Doc
Doc:
Your last point is a good suggestion, but at least you’ve added a topic within this topic.
On that score, maybe its experience, appreciating better the mutuality of sexual satisfaction, and the patience that comes w/ getting close to my 48th birthday, maybe its disposable income that let’s me and the wife put ourselves in the right settings, but sexually, quality and quantity have never been better. I sure hope I haven’t peaked. I’m always looking for new variety to try out. I do spend a lot of time encouraging that variety, however.
[/quote]
I hadn’t read this thread in quite some time, and was surprised to find this post. It truly bothers me. It is beyond my comprehension. In my twenties, I was capable of sex with orgasm (I’ll say it in spanish, this is very personal) siete veces en un dia. That’s a lot of veces. I could not come close to that now, not with triple my T levels and a bottle of Viagra (and I still find my wife very sexy). Even if I got a free pass for a day to fuck other women, I doubt I’d get past quatro. Quality I understand, it SHOULD be better now than before. But QUANTITY??? I can’t believe it. Doc
I hadn't read this thread in quite some time, and was surprised to find this post. It truly bothers me. It is beyond my comprehension. In my twenties, I was capable of sex with orgasm (I'll say it in spanish, this is very personal) siete veces en un dia. That's a lot of veces. I could not come close to that now, not with triple my T levels and a bottle of Viagra (and I still find my wife very sexy). Even if I got a free pass for a day to fuck other women, I doubt I'd get past quatro. Quality I understand, it SHOULD be better now than before. But QUANTITY??? I can't believe it. Doc
[/quote]
Doc: I’m not sure why the post would bother you, but I should acknowledge that I probably misspent my twenties! I may be making up for lost experience. I completely agreed that quality is much more important than quantity, but in my case, quantity is just better than it was previously. I think a big part of it are some life choices my wife and I made that have resulted in a lot less stress in our lives than we used to have. I feel very fortunate for the moment. Should things change, I will have to roll w/ those changes.
[quote]Skeetz wrote:
I hadn’t read this thread in quite some time, and was surprised to find this post. It truly bothers me. It is beyond my comprehension. In my twenties, I was capable of sex with orgasm (I’ll say it in spanish, this is very personal) siete veces en un dia. That’s a lot of veces. I could not come close to that now, not with triple my T levels and a bottle of Viagra (and I still find my wife very sexy). Even if I got a free pass for a day to fuck other women, I doubt I’d get past quatro. Quality I understand, it SHOULD be better now than before. But QUANTITY??? I can’t believe it. Doc
Doc: I’m not sure why the post would bother you, but I should acknowledge that I probably misspent my twenties! I may be making up for lost experience. I completely agreed that quality is much more important than quantity, but in my case, quantity is just better than it was previously. I think a big part of it are some life choices my wife and I made that have resulted in a lot less stress in our lives than we used to have. I feel very fortunate for the moment. Should things change, I will have to roll w/ those changes.
[/quote]
I’ve calmed down, sorry if I was over the top with that post. It probably stems in part from some nostalgia I have for incredible experiences I had in my mid to late twenties, especially when I first met my wife to be.
I also have a best friend, who after getting divorced at 45, found a new sex partner, and being a competitive guy, he knew my “peak number” and matched it. That was sort of juvenile in my opinion, because I never set out to set any records in my twenties, I was just having a passionate romance. However, it did open my eyes to what is possible at an older age for some men. Maybe I got a little jealous, for like I said, quantity for me is just not possible like it used to be. Maybe it’s more me than age. Doc